Photo: Getty
Earlier this month, Ariana Grande announced her separation from husband Dalton Gomez, and reports were quick to inform the world that the musician is currently dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater.
According to sources, it appears Grande was still working on her relationship with Gomez when she flew to the UK to film the musical movie Wicked in December 2022, though a source told Us Weekly that the couple were “having issues” and “the distance did not help.” Meanwhile, Grande’s alleged new partner—who is known for playing Spongebob Squarepants on Broadway and will be playing the Munchkin Boq in Wicked—was also in a committed relationship when filming began. In fact, Slater has been married to high school sweetheart Lilly Jay since 2018 and welcomed his first child with her sometime in 2022.
Here’s everything we know about Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s romance.
May 15, 2021: Gomez and Dalton get married.
November 2022: Per Page Six, Slater gushes over Jay in an Instagram post, writing, “My best friend. 4 years married, 10 years together. And this is easily the best (and most *bizarre*) year yet.” According to screenshots shared on TikTok, Grande likes the post at some point.
December 2022: Wicked begins filming. Grande plays the famed good witch Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba.
January 2023: Grande and Gomez split, according to TMZ’s July report.
May 14, 2023: Slater posts a Mother’s Day tribute to his wife on Instagram, featuring photos of their son. According to fan screenshots, Grande likes this post as well.
Ethan Slater and wife Lily Jay attend the 2018 Tony Awards Gala at the Plaza Hotel on June 10, 2018. Photo: Getty
July 16, 2023: Grande is spotted at Wimbledon without her wedding ring.
Ariana Grande watches Carlos Alcaraz play Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon 2023 men’s final on July 16, 2023, in London. Photo: Getty
July 17, 2023: News breaks that Grande and Gomez have separated. TMZ is the first to report the news, which People quickly confirmed. TMZ sources claim the pair are “heading toward divorce” while a source tells People that Grande and Gomez “have been quietly and lovingly working on their friendship.”
Grande deleted several photos of Gomez from her Instagram feed, though some remain.
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July 20, 2023: Sources confirm to People that Grande has “recently” started dating Slater. “Ariana and Dalton separated in January. She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife,” the source says. Meanwhile, a source tells UsWeekly that “Ariana and Ethan have only recently begun seeing each other, but they have a lot of fun together and are enjoying each other’s company.”
At this point, there has been no official separation or divorce announcement regarding Slater and his wife beyond People’s report. Slater quickly goes private on Instagram after reports of his relationship with Grande go viral.
July 21, 2023: Sources tell Page Six that Slater’s wife was “completely blindsided” by his relationship with Grande. “It’s horrible. They were high school sweethearts. They have a baby! She’s a wreck,” a source says.
July 25, 2023: An insider comes forward with more allegations, framing Grande and Slater as rather callous in their brazenness. According to a source that spoke to Us Weekly, Slater informed his wife of the new relationship mere “days” before news broke, and it wasn’t a secret on the set of Wicked, either. “Ariana and Ethan weren’t careful,” Us reports.
“Ethan sat Lilly down a few days before the news broke about him and Ariana and said that he wanted a divorce,” the source added. “Lilly never saw it coming.”
Originally published on Glamour.com
